Second Chance
by kuribon
Summary: It's been a year since the end of the war and Konoha is holding a ceremony for their new Hokage. But, why isn't this Hokage smiling like everyone else?


A year had passed since the end of the war. Konoha and the rest of the villages that had been destroyed were now reconstructed and living a new era of peace. All thanks to the sacrifices of brave heroes.

But today there was also a ceremony being held. All the high-class shinobis of Konoha and a few diplomats from other hidden villages had met up for it. This ceremony -that would later be held again in the Hokage tower for the rest of the shinobi as well as the civilians- marked the end of a dark era.

Close to the memorial stone -where far too many names could be read- and a new monument to conmemorate the two heroes that had ended the war, Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was oficially giving up her position to her sucessor, the now Rokudaime Hokage: Hatake Kakashi.

While most of the atendants were in a positive mood, happy that the threats were gone, and it looked like things would stay like that for quite a while, a few pairs of eyes couldn't reflect the joy that floated in the air of the whole village.

One of them was the Rokudaime himself. After all, this was _his _dream. A dream that would never be fulfilled. He was no longer here to complete his goals and keep his self-promises.

While Tsunade was giving the last speech of the ceremony, Kakashi looked at one of the present (recently promoted) jounnin. She was the only one that was looking neither to him or her once master. Instead, her face was turned to the new monument, a big stone with the symbols of two once-powerful clans, that had now disappeared: the Uzumaki and the Uchiha clan. Her pink hair had been tied in a ponytail and her pale skin reflected the light of the Sun as if the star was shining only for her. Her green eyes glowed with tears that she was trying to hold back.

The ceremony ended and everyone was dismissed. One by one, everyone greeted Kakashi before leaving. Everyone but her. She kept the same position the whole time, as if she was tied to the ground. Once the two of them were the only ones left, the copy-nin went to stand next to her.

"Congratulations, Kakashi-sensei" she said without looking at him. Silence.

Kakashi looked at the symbols and the names beneath them. It was painful to read the names of his former students, who had lost their lives giving the final blow to the enemy, all for the sake of the village that had made them suffer their whole lives, for the dreams of people they had never really met. The pain was accompanied by guilt.

It was wrong to name him the new Hokage. It was an insult to the other Hokage memories, especially Minato. It was an insult to Naruto's memory.

_The whole war was my fault_. If only, he had kept his promise and took care of Rin.

_Their deaths were my fault_. If only, he had been a better teacher. If he had stopped Sasuke. If he had spent more time watching over them instead of living in the past.

He lost track of time, drowning in a sea of _what if_'s. When suddenly, the only one of his former teams left spoke.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for the next ceremony?" She sounded as if they were just spending a relaxing evening in a tea house, far from all the darkness in their hearts.

Kakashi looked at her and noticed the wet trails on her cheeks. While he was lost in his self-loathing, she had run out of tears to cry.

"Sakura..." he started. "Please, don't make the same mistake I did." She turned to face him, silently asking him to continue.

"I know that losing them, who were precious to you, is painful. I know that you're now deep in the loneliness, but you have to be strong. I've spent my whole life living in the past and it took me nowhere. This new title doesn't mean much to me. Not when most of the people I've ever loved are gone" Sakura looked down, knowing she was the one that kept that _most_ from becoming an _all_.

When she lifted her head again, Kakashi noticed how her eyes looked so lifeless and full of misery.

"I can't stand seeing you like this... If I could, I would give up my own life to bring them back."

"Kakashi-sensei, please stop. I don't wanna hear this."

"You have to. You have to face the situation. You have to move on. You have to honor their memories and become a person they would be proud of." The Rokudaime spoke slowly. A part of him wasn't sure if he was saying this for Sakura or for himself.

"I don't want to move on. I don't even know if I will be able to keep living without them."

"You will, Sakura. You're stronger than you think."

"I thought I was strong enough to save them." Tears started to roll again from her eyes.

They stayed in silence again.

A bird flew past them and posed itself over the memorial. The two shinobi admired it's beautiful yellow -just like Naruto's hair- and black -just like Sasuke's eyes- feathers. The little animal moved it's head in different directions before flying off again. From where Kakashi and Sakura were standing, it looked as if the bird was heading towards the sun.

"Sakura..."

She remained quiet, waiting for her once-sensei to continue.

"I'm sure you'll be able to meet them again. Just not in this life."

A small smile appeared on the young girl's face. She imagined another future, one where her almost-brother and her loved one were with her, where the three of them were happy. She knew the man next to her was right. Life would give them another chance someday.

"Will you be with us, Kakashi-sensei?"

The Kage smiled under his mask. "Of course," he said.

The two of them looked at the names on the stone one last time before heading back to the village.

* * *

**Author's note: I wrote this during the same week I wrote the other one-shot I've published, tho I wanted to make things with different feelings. As a beginning writer I want to try different things and improve so, once again, comments and reviews will be welcomed ^^**


End file.
